It takes a lot to actually notice something ridiculous coming out of the mouth of Rex Ryan at this point.
The Jets coach has said so many outlandish things over the years that most of what he says goes in one ear and out the other in about as much time as it takes for Tim Tebow to remove his shirt in the presence of cameras. Now and then, though, Ryan still finds a way to make you double check to make sure you heard what you thought you heard.
Friday was one of those moments. Ryan was asked when the team was going to put cornerback Darrelle Revis on injured reserve with his season-ending ACL tear and Ryan came up with a doozy of a response.
"You know what? And I've talked to Darrelle, let's just have him go through surgery. Let's see what happens when he goes through surgery because there's that 0.0002 percent chance that he could play in the Super Bowl, so why would you take that option away from him?" Ryan said. "Let's just put it this way, my thought is, if you're fortunate enough to make it to that big game and he's fortunate enough to be healthy, I know our fans will want him playing just like I would want him playing."
Let's just get this out of the way. Revis isn't going to be healthy enough for any doctor other than Dr. Nick Riviera to give him clearance to play four months after having surgery to repair a torn ACL.
That's the first response that someone inhabiting planet Earth should have to Ryan's belief that there's still hope for Revis. The second is that it is hard to fathom how these Jets have anything more than 0.0002 percent chance of making it to the Super Bowl this season.
They weren't heading in that direction with a healthy Revis, so the idea that they will wind up there without Revis is a pretty massive stretch for even Ryan. On top of all that, there's an injured reserve/recall spot this season that would allow the Jets to bring Revis back in the future while filling his roster spot with someone who can actually help the team fulfill Ryan's Super Bowl fever dream.
Sports
That should be the only thing the Jets are thinking about right now. They need to accept Revis' absence and work on putting together a roster good enough to actually win some games, starting with this weekend against the 49ers.
Instead, they are moving Joe McKnight to cornerback -- there are admittedly slim pickings on the open market for corners right now -- and continuing to hold a candle for a player who isn't going to be coming back. Accepting that, and not in the maudlin way that Ryan accepted it earlier this week, is the only way forward for the Jets this season.
Reality was elusive for the Jets last season until things were much too late. They can't continue their vacation again this season and expect any better results.
Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.
